Hywelian Guild 2014 - howells-cardiff.gdst.net · ians all over the globe are up to, ... Having to...
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Hywelian Guild 2014
Transcript of Hywelian Guild 2014 - howells-cardiff.gdst.net · ians all over the globe are up to, ... Having to...
Hywelian Guild 2014
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CONTENTS
Filling the Gap
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Editorial
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Lessons Learned, Success Earned
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President's letter
4 What a Difference 30 Years Makes
21
Who’s Who and What’s On
6 News From the Archives 22
Secretary’s Report
8 In Memoriam 24
Branch Reports
9 Wartime Recollections 26
What Are They Up To Now?
11 How Long is Long Enough? 27
As It Was Then
13 Boarder Memories 28
Getting together again
14 Howlers 29
Honours and Achievements
15 Hywelian Oral History project 29
In Celebration
16 Marriages and New Arrivals 30
Thoughts from Abroad 17 Online and on the Web 31
Cover photos:
Top left: Hywelian Oral History project interviewees
Bottom left: Cocktails at Christmas 2013
Top right: Class of ’83 reunion
Bottom right: West Wales Branch 40th birthday celebration
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I’D ONLY JUST breathed a sigh of relief
that the last bit of last year’s Magazine
had been dealt with, when the emails
started coming through with this year’s
offerings. News continued to arrive regu-
larly, and here we are again with a brand
new Magazine!
It’s always good to know what Hywel-
ians all over the globe are up to, and we
really do appreciate the few moments you
spend updating us. We know, too, that
many friendships which lapsed after
schooldays have been renewed, and that
is something we are very glad to facili-
tate.
There is inevitably the sad news of Hy-
welians who are no longer with us, but
that is balanced with the news we have of
marriages and new arrivals in the Hywel-
ian family.
Perhaps most enjoyable for those of, shall
we say, more mature years, are the mem-
ories of times gone by, when the School’s
ethos seemed to be slanted more towards
making us refined young ladies. Maybe
these same memories can be instructive
to those newer (and younger!) Hywel-
ians, giving them an insight into the his-
tory of this wonderful institution, and its
development into the kind of place where
refinement is lower down the agenda, and
pupils are challenged and encouraged to
develop all-round skills.
As a way of encouraging this, present
pupils are involved in the Hywelian Oral
History project - and very interesting it is,
too!
As always, there are thanks to be record-
ed and as Editor I can only admire the
skill and persistence with which members
of the Editorial Committee manage to
extract such wonderful nuggets of infor-
mation from our contributors. Special
thanks to Sue Rayner and Joyce Shields
for (very necessary!) proofreading. You
all deserve, and get, my heartfelt thanks.
Lyn Owen
Editor
HYWELIAN GUILD 2014
THANK YOU to everyone who took the trouble to feed back your thoughts on last year’s Magazine - the first to go online. Your compliments were very encouraging! We also welcome any comments and suggestions you may have about future editions. One of the advantages of having a ‘virtual’ presence is the fact that we can include lengthier contributions in an appendix, and keep the shorter,
edited versions in the Magazine prop-er. This helps to keep down the num-ber (and hence weight) of pages in the printed version without depriving you of the detailed information availa-ble to you. (As always, we under-stand that there are those who do not have online facilities; we suggest an offer of a cup of tea and biscuits to someone who does may be helpful!)
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IN THE SUMMER TERM of 2013, our aptly
-named campaign, Pitch In, was
launched. Its aim is to raise funds for a
much-needed Astroturf and Sports pavil-
ion to enhance our sports offer to stu-
dents. We have been raising money in a
variety of innovative ways; more notable
events include: a Champagne Cycle Chal-
lenge on a sunny late June Sunday; a
Golf Charity Day at The Vale resort; an
evening in John Lewis, and a Bollywood-
themed evening, called Mumbai Magic,
planned for February 2014. Parents, stu-
dents, teachers, Hywelians and other well
-wishers are also providing goods and
services, the proceeds from which go to
the fund.
Over the summer, the Nursery was totally
refurbished and the Green Garden pro-
ject, complete with rotating glass orb,
woodland walk, fire pit and a willow Stig
of the Dump, was finished. The Junior
School girls are particularly appreciative
of the two 15 foot giraffes that are now in
the playground!
Our Science laboratories have had a com-
plete makeover and I am sure you will
enjoy seeing this wonderful area where
we are now trialling LED lighting for the
Trust, so it is particularly bright in this
area of the school.
The academic year of 2012/13 once again
saw us the top school in Wales, with fan-
tastic GCSE and A level results.
At A level, 23% gained A*; 59.5%
gained A*/A, and 85% gained A*-C.
Six students gained all A*, and 26 stu-
dents gained all A*/A
At GCSE: Two girls achieved all A*s,
and 21 girls achieved all A*/As
Of total entries, 36.5% of our results were
at A*, 74% of our results were at A* to
A, and 93% of our results were at A* to
B.
These results are a testament to the hard
work of our students and staff. A number
of Hywelians kindly wrote to me after
seeing our results in the local papers or
on our banner. I always pass on these
messages to the students and staff, who, I
know, appreciate the interest that Hywel-
ians show in them.
In September we held our Annual Prize-
giving and I was delighted to welcome
back Bethan James, a Hywelian. Bethan's
official job title is ‘extragalactic astro-
physicist’. Her work encompasses galaxy
formation and evolution, specifically by
star-forming galaxies in the near and dis-
tant Universe. After graduating from
Howell’s in 2002, Bethan gained First
Class Honours in Physics with Astro-
physics at Bristol University, then com-
pleted a PhD in Astrophysics at Universi-
ty College London, under the supervision
of Professor Mike Barlow. She was next
offered a three-year Postdoctoral research
post at NASA's Space Telescope Science
Institute, in Baltimore USA, the home of
the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).
There she worked on chemical analysis
of nearby galaxies, using the newly-
installed Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on
board HST. Bethan was offered her sec-
ond Postdoctoral-position at the Institute
of Astronomy, Cambridge University,
where she now continues her research on
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Sally Davis summarises another very successful year for the school.
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the more distant Universe.
An extract (very much edited!) from her
speech is below:
‘It’s difficult for me to pin-down exact
memories of Howell’s, mainly because
my time here was a whirlwind of involve-
ment - drama, choir, Eisteddfod, netball -
but my fondest memories are of explora-
tion. We spent an unhealthy amount of
time opening doors to unknown places,
like the clock tower. Needless to say it all
ended in detention and a permanently
locked door. I also sincerely apologise to
all the staff to whom I denied ‘temp-
orarily relocating’ the gong in Year 11.
In spite of this, I had a strict work ethic,
which I still abide by today. I was very
conscientious during my time at How-
ell’s: I took assessments seriously and
saw examinations as opportunities to
prove myself. Perfection was my goal: if I
had a spotless academic record, the
world could hold no bounds.
‘I first started focusing on the Universe
when I was about eight or nine years old.
Driving back from Scotland one night, my
father stopped to show me the Milky Way
in all its glory. He said there are more
stars in the Universe than grains of sand
on earth, and explained that the Universe
is infinite. From that moment, I knew that
I wanted to know more about space; not
just the Solar System, but bigger, better,
further - a desire that still holds today. I
now specialise in analysing galaxies out-
side our own: galaxies that are giving
birth to hundreds of millions of stars each
year.
‘My Howell’s education - indeed, my
entire “Howell’s experience” - has
helped me throughout my career, by
providing me with certain skills, of which
one is organisation. Having to pre-plan
each day, knowing which books, which
kit, which stick, which coat, to pack -
helped me to be organised, and I still
pack my bag for work the night before.
Homework was done as soon as it was
received, even if the deadline was two
weeks away. I still do that now; most
astronomers tend to see deadlines as dis-
tant point-sources in the far realms of the
Universe.
‘Another skill is confidence. Howell’s
gave me the confidence to do exactly
what I wanted to do and be the person I
wanted to be. Until I started university, I
was unaware of the gender imbalance
within the physical sciences. This school
helps its students to believe that anything
is possible. At the age of twelve, when I
told Mrs Fitz that I was going to be the
first woman on Mars, she gave me a huge
smile and said, “That’s fantastic, Be-
than”.
‘If I were to offer one piece of wisdom, it
would be: work for something you feel
passionate about. Diligence will become
second nature and your studies will be
enjoyable. Always follow your dreams,
regardless of how hard they are to
achieve. You are often told that if you
reach for the stars, you might just reach
the tree-tops. I say: if you reach for the
stars, and you want them enough, you
can certainly touch them.’
It was an inspiring speech and I know
you would all have been proud of Bethan,
as a fellow Hywelian, for what she has
achieved, and the message she has given
to Hywelians of the future.
Sally Davis
Principal
A fuller version of Bethan’s address may
be found in the online Appendix.
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WHO’S WHO IN 2014
PRINCIPAL AND GUILD PRESIDENT
Mrs Sally Davis,
Howell’s School, Llandaff, Cardiff
Tel: 029 2056 2019
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL
Mrs Michelle Gosney
On secondment to Estyn until Sept 2014
EXTRAORDINARY VICE-PRESIDENTS
Miss J Turner
Mrs J Fitz
VICE-PRESIDENTS
Mrs Ena Davies (Evans)
Mrs Josie Rawlins (Parry Thomas)
Mrs Susan Woodrow (Pearson-Griffiths)
Miss Margaret Evans
Mrs Nicola Davies (Salter)
SECRETARY
Mrs Sue Rayner (Davies)
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
Mrs Frances Smallcombe (Gray)
TREASURER
Mrs Saskia Russell (Blair)
ASSISTANT TREASURER
Ms Kerry McFarland
AUDITOR
Mrs Julia Evans (Martin)
LIAISON OFFICER
Mrs Julia Baker (Rhys)
EDITOR
Mrs Lyn Owen (Hawkins)
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY
Mrs Joyce Shields (Bingham)
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Ms Kay Powell
Mrs Calan McGreevy (Davies)
Mrs Helen Graham (Moger)
Mrs Sheila McFarland (Hamley)
Mrs Catherine Coulson (Johnson)
OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE
Please note that, as the magazine is also being produced in an online version acces-sible to all, for security reasons we have not printed private addresses and telephone numbers. For those Hywelians wishing to make contact who do not have email ac-cess, please contact the Committee via School
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BRANCH SECRETARIES
LONDON
Vacancy exists
BRIDGEND
Dr Parry (Pat Lennox)
SOUTHERN
Mrs Evans (Carol Diamond)
SCOTTISH
Caroline Mclean [email protected]
WEST WALES
Mrs Coulson (Catherine Johnson)
USA—NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Mrs Ward (Debbie Buss)
Mrs Plambeck (Karen Millar)
AUSTRALIA
Mrs Atkinson (Christine Treeby)
Officers and Branch Secretaries serve in a voluntary capacity, with appointment
approved at the AGM. There is always a welcome to anyone wishing to serve on the
Committee: please contact the Secretary for further details.
FOR THE DIARY There is a huge amount of activity going on in School next year - below is a very brief summary of what is happening.
BRIDGEND BRANCH will celebrate their 60th Anniversary with a lunch in School on Tuesday 6 May 2014 from 12.30pm onwards.
The SUMMER LUNCH AND AGM will be held in School on Saturday 28 June 2014 at 12.00pm
Other events in School include open afternoons; and Spring and Summer concerts and shows. There are two Charity events: a Golf Day and Dinner in May, and a Champagne Cycle Challenge and Barbecue in June. The Found-ers’ Friday Assembly will be on 27 June, the time to be confirmed.
For more information about these events, please contact Hannah Roberts on 029 2026 1825 or email [email protected]. You can also find details on the School website.
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It hardly seems any time since I sat down
to write my piece for the Magazine last
year, and here we are again.
It has been a busy year for events in
School, with Hywelians attending many
of them. Amongst the
treats was a splendid
performance of Romeo
and Juliet in the Au-
tumn Term, and an
evening in the beauty
department of John Lewis with wine and
canapés, with most of the cost of the tick-
et refunded in the shape of a voucher to
spend.
Our main event is our Summer Lunch,
and I am pleased to record that over 80
people came in June 2013, which was
good to see. I know that it has subse-
quently led to a group – the Class of ’83
– organising a get together at School, as
you can read later in the magazine. I am
very grateful to Mrs. Davis, Mrs Yilmaz
and Hannah Roberts for the help which
they give us to enable us to continue to
meet at School and to maintain contact
with you all. I am aware of two other
former pupils’ associations which have
folded this year, and that could well be
your Guild without the support which we
receive. We shall be holding our Summer
Lunch on 28th June in 2014, and I do
hope that as many of you as possible will
come.
We hold our AGM as an adjunct to this
occasion which I know isn’t popular, but
we are part of a Registered Charity and
must adhere to the requirements which
this places upon us. We would welcome
any Hywelian who wants to come for-
ward for election to any of the Officer or
Committee posts – this is the only oppor-
tunity to officially do so!
On a more cheerful note, we have two
Branches which have celebrated major
anniversaries this year . The West Wales
Branch is 40 years old, the Bridgend
Branch 60 years old.
Keeping the branches
going is the result of
hard work by a few
people who deserve as
much support as we
can give them. Congratulations to both
Branches. And congratulations to Kay
Powell, who will take over as Chairman
of the Governors in August 2014 – the
first Hywelian to hold this office. I sus-
pect it would have been unthinkable to
the worthy gentlemen who comprised the
first Board of Governors!
My thanks to my Committee, especially
Joyce Shields, without whom I would not
be able to function as Secretary, to our
Editor Lyn Owen, and to Hywelians who
have sent us their news thus enabling us
to produce the Magazine which has now
been produced nearly every year for over
a century (the war years were difficult!).
It was Miss Kendall who encouraged the
formation of the Guild in 1906, and I’m
sure she would be astonished to see the
way that School, the Guild and the Maga-
zine have developed over this time. It is
thanks to Mrs Janet Sully and the support
which Mrs Davis gives to the archives
and the history of the school, that we
have such a rich heritage to maintain and
pass on to the future.
Sue Rayner
Secretary
“Two Branches celebrated
major anniversaries this year.”
DEAR HYWELIANS,
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BRANCH REPORTS
If you are an Hywelian now living away from Cardiff, joining a branch is a way of keeping in touch with fellow Hywelians. Contact details of Branch Secretar-ies may be found on page 7
SCOTTISH BRANCH
We enjoyed another happy meeting at the Parklands Hotel in Perth this summer. We were able to sit outside and enjoy a pre-lunch glass of wine, and I suspect our fellow guests wished we had stayed out-side for lunch as well, as the noise from our chatter was deafening!
We were five in all, Mary Craig, Maeve Ersu, Jean Mcgregor, Barbara Trengove and Jean Cox. Unfortunately, Carolyn, Jill, Caroline and Alicia were unable to be with us.
I am retiring as secretary this year and Caroline Mclean has kindly agreed to take over from me. Her e-mail address is:
If anyone has recently moved to Scotland and would like to join us, please get in touch: you will be given a very warm wel-come. We send our best wishes to all Hywelians from our small group north of the border. Jean Cox
SOUTHERN BRANCH
2013 has been variable. The meeting held in May was disappointing, as our usual venue was not up to standard and only five of our members were present. How-ever, our September meeting was a con-siderable improvement. The Lyndhurst Park Hotel provided us with its usual high standard of food and the staff were ex-ceptionally friendly and accommodating. Two of our members are chauffeured to the meeting by their daughters and our membership increased to eight!
For 2014, our meetings have been ar-ranged at the Lyndhurst Park Hotel on 8th May and 25th September. We would wel-
come any new members to our meetings; do let us have details of any former pupils of the school who have recently become resident in our area! Carol Evans
WEST WALES BRANCH
This has been a most special year for the Branch, as we celebrated our 40th anni-versary in style! Our Spring Reunion was held at HSL, (full report & photo can be found on the Hywelians’ page of School website.)
Our Autumn Reunion was hosted by our President, Mrs Ena Davies, at her Burry Port home. Instead of the customary buf-fet lunch, Ena provided a delicious meal for all 14 attendees, in return for a small donation. We decided that the £45 raised should be sent to HSL; £25 for School's upcoming performance of 'Romeo & Juli-et', and £20 for the Hywelian Magazine Fund.
Unfortunately, our most senior member Eunice Davies (who had recently cele-brated her 90th birthday) was unable to join us, so we sang 'Happy Birthday' to her over the phone! Eunice says, 'Thanks for your brilliant rendering of 'Happy Birth-day': I was sorry to miss the meeting but heartened that you thought of me in such a musical fashion. Good wishes to every-body. Eunice'
We would like to welcome more 'new fac-es' at our Spring 2014 meeting, which will be held at Marianne Rees's home in Loughor on Saturday May 17 2014. Any Hywelians interested in joining us for a most enjoyable afternoon of laughter and reminiscence should contact me, and I'll ensure you're invited! Catherine Coulson
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BRIDGEND BRANCH
2013 is our 60th Anniversary, and we plan to celebrate with a cake at our Advent meeting in the Bear Hotel Cowbridge on November 27th. 24 Hywelians attended our inaugural meeting in September 1953 at a Bridgend Hotel. Beryl Christopher was elected Chairman, Bess Morgan, Secretary and Doreen Annear (King) Treasurer. Subscription was 1/-, increas-ing to 2/- in 1964!
Our Advent service and lunch in Cow-bridge in November remains a popular and central event for our members. Our Spring Lunch and AGM was in The Grove Golf Club in South Cornelly. 19 attended, including Mrs Sully from school.
Margaret Evans stood down as Chairman. We thank her for her many years in this post and congratulate her on being made a Vice-President of the Guild. Elizabeth Fryer (née Richards) has volunteered to take over. Liz started in Howell’s in 1957 as a day girl. She now lives in St. Athan with husband Ray. She is retired but as-sists with Guides and is a volunteer story teller in local schools and library.
The summer supper was in Fairways Ho-tel Porthcawl; unfortunately amid unfin-ished improvements.
Two of our members moved away during the year. Joyce Care (née Cridland), a stalwart member of the branch, has moved to Weymouth to be near her sons and their families. Joyce has cared for husband Richard for several years; sadly, he is now in a nursing home. Joan Loudon (née Ede) from Cowbridge, also a regular member, has been in poor health and is in a home in Oxford near her fami-ly. We wish them both well.
We are to hold a celebratory lunch in school on Tuesday 6 May 2014; our sum-mer meeting will be in July. Please con-tact me nearer the time for further details.
Pat Parry
LONDON BRANCH
On 18th May 22 members and Mrs Michelle Gosney, Deputy Principal, at-tended the Annual Tea at Drapers' Hall. This grandiose building provides a great atmosphere for our Tea; this year we were very lucky in being able to visit the silver treasury and view the superb collec-tion, including items presented by schools associated with the Drapers' Compa-ny .We enjoyed a talk by Mrs Gosney, describing the exciting events that had recently taken place or were about to. The CD of Beauty and the Beast handed out was greatly appreciated.
On Saturday 12th October ,16 members met for lunch at the Brasserie Blanc, Southbank, where we had a very pleasant meal in a private room. Next year, we aim to meet on a Saturday, possibly in No-vember; we hope that a weekend date will be attractive to more Hywelians. We would love to welcome new members particularly from younger generations.
Diana (our retiring Secretary) now spends much of her time away from the London area, so we need a new Secretary. The London Branch members are very appre-ciative of Diana's excellent efforts on their behalf. It’s not an onerous job: any tak-ers?
The tea and lunch in 2014 will be held on Saturday 17 May.
Rosemary Satchell (Treasurer, London Branch)
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WHAT ARE THEY UP TO NOW?
Some Hywelians seem to get to the most unlikely places and do the most unlikely things. We’re always delighted to hear of your exploits, here, there - or anywhere!
CHRISTINE ATKINSON writes from Aus-tralia to say that Sue Johnson (née Lisle) and her partner Jeoff visited Australia earlier this year and we had lunch together at Bondi Beach. We had a wonderful time, but sadly I mis-placed the photos we took! (Sue - if you’re reading this and you have pho-tos - please get in touch! - Ed)
JANET WILLIAMS (née Hustwick, 1958-65)says, “I retired from teaching in 2012 but am still continuing with ex-amining and still live in London. My son is now Senior Lecturer in Modern European History at Aberystwyth. He and his family are living in north Pem-brokeshire and my daughter-in-law, an American, has learned Welsh very quickly! We have bought the house which is attached to theirs, about nine miles from the coastal path and in a good area for walkers, cyclists and bikers. It will be a holiday let but needs a bit of work before it can be used. My maternal grandfather's fami-ly came from Pembrokeshire, so it is a bit like coming home. My son also brews beer, has won several prizes and has set up a microbrewery in his house. He has called it the Seren Brewing Company.”
MARIA MCCARTHY is working as a freelance journalist and has recently had features in Good Housekeeping, The Guardian and The Sunday Ex-press. She has interviewed Aled
Jones, (‘really good fun’) and Martin Kemp from Spandau Ballet (‘still swoonily handsome!’), and met Ange-la Rippon, Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean and Jennifer Lawrence. Maria has appeared on radio and TV (including Daybreak, Sky news, and Radio 4's You and Yours), talking about motoring matters. She attended the 2013 reunion and had a fantastic time catching up with old friends, “discovering the new, ra-ther plush staff room and hanging out drinking wine there.”
ADRIENNE CROCKETT tells us: “I’m a Consultant Psychiatrist and ‘Clinical Lead of the Acute Pathway for Mental Health’ in South West Yorkshire Men-tal Health Trust.
“My daughters both came back to Wales to University – Nicole to Cardiff from which she graduated with an MA in English Literature this summer (she’s now hoping to go on to a PhD) and Simone who is now in her sec-ond Year at Swansea University.
“Dad died very suddenly last year but Mum is still living in Lisvane, so I’m in Cardiff quite frequently these days.”
DOROTHY WEBB DAVIES Says “I am soon to publish my first book, called "Breaking Rules", on Kindle. It's a novel portraying a slice of life from the fifties - the genuine thing! Alt-hough I published five children's books in the 70s (now out of print),
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and have also published short stories, a play and even a few poems, I al-
ways meant to be a novel-ist - and now there isn't much time left! I tend to get deflected onto other
things. My daughter, Je-
ma Hewitt, herself a published writer, has designed the cover for me, so watch this space.
JULIA HALLINAN left HSL in 1972, has now retired from being a head teach-er and gone full circle to opening an-other Cookshop in King's Road, Pontcanna (Cardiff). Julia says it’s "The Best Food You Never Cooked", and Joyce Shields (Membership Sec-retary) can vouch that it really is deli-cious!
CLAIRE MURPHY reports that in March 2013, “I was appointed Assistant Pro-fessor at the Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick. I’m currently building up my research group which will work on various as-pects of Nanocomposite Materials.”
SYLVIA HORNER (née Maskew) writes:
“I took my courage in both hands and went on a Great Rail Trip for Singles in September to Switzerland. “It was exhausting but a great experi-ence. Michael Portillo described most of our expeditions in his wanderings round Europe with Bradshaw, but when we reached the top of the Jung-fraujoch we had a white out. The Bernese Oberland was as gorgeous as when I was last there in the
1960's. “In the bank at home the financial adviser asked me where I had been. When I answered 'Interlaken' She said 'Where's that?' “At 84 I can claim to still be vertical - but increasingly slow!”
ANN COTTON set up Camfed, which is a marvellous organisation. Not many of us can claim to have such an effect on so many millions of young girls around the world, in particular educat-ing girls, rather than have them marry young and produce babies when their bodies are too immature. You can see videos of the work they do by going to the link below:
www.youtube.com/user/camfedinternational
Ann is to be nominated for the GDST ‘Alumna of the Year 2014’ award.
DELYTH MCGREEVY (HSL 1994-2000) and her partner Paul Robles own a delicatessen – BLASUS in King Street, Carmarthen – which was run-ner up in the Observer Food Monthly Readers’ Award. Quite an achieve-ment as they’ve only been going for four years. SARAH MATTHEWS (née Watson James, HSL 1971-8), runs a business in Chichester advising and helping SMEs grow. When she's not working Sarah is either swimming, cycling, running or coaching fellow triathletes at Petersfield Triathlon Club.
Recently Sarah met up with Dr Anne Griffiths, Sue Whiting (nee Baker), Jayne Barr (nee Loxley-Hughes) and Jacqueline Norman and she's off to Italy to spend New Year with Juliet Comana (Halewood). Sarah still has family in Cardiff so she's a regular
Dorothy and daughter Jema
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THE GREAT FEATURE of the teaching of those days was learning by heart, and woe betide the unfortunate girl who had to be corrected twice in one lesson! Not only did she lose her place in class every time she missed (her place tak-en by the one who did know the answer), but she also had to endure a far greater punishment – the side table. It meant that as the girls filed into the dining room to breakfast or tea - as the case may be – the unfortunate one slipped out of rank and took her seat at the side table, i.e. the middle table of the three lower ones in the dining room. In due course a plate of dry bread was put in front of her! Had she a fel-low delinquent, it was endurable, but if she sat there in solitary state, she was convinced in her miserable self-consciousness that every soul in that room possessed six pairs of eyes, every one of which was fixed on her unhappy self! Could the Inquisition with its tortures have been much worse?
Mrs. Riches came from Cardiff twice a week to drill us and teach the older girls how to dance the Minuet. The latter had their lessons on one day and the younger girls with some of the day scholars on the second. I can see the little lady now, standing on a form and shouting at the top of her
voice: making scathing remarks, and calling out to some inattentive girl that she was only fit for the “awkward squad”! In summer we drilled in the
playground, in winter in what was the Upper Day Room, which even in my time, was turned into class-rooms. If we wanted
gymnastics of another sort we invent-ed our own. I well remember a girl trying to see how far she could get through the bars of the Sixth Form windows, and getting so tightly wedged she could neither move backwards or forwards. Amid screams and shouts of laughter from the others, two girls each seized a leg to help her out of her difficulty; as ill-luck would have it, when the uproar was at its height, the door opened and the Head Mistress appeared. Instantly, there was dead silence. “Come down from there at once!” she ordered, but the girl’s almost hysteri-cal, “I can’t Miss, I can’t” was merci-fully too much for her: with a set face she turned and left the girl to herself - and us.
Our games were limited to Prisoner’s Base, Flag, and such like. Very occa-sionally, the older girls were allowed a game of Early Victorian Croquet on the Head Mistress’s lawn. Neither tennis nor hockey was the fashion in those early days. We had to find
Maud Patterson attended Howell’s School from 1875-82, and was asked to write some reminiscences for the magazine which was published in 1914. It is written in a somewhat quaint style, which has been edited as little as possi-ble.
AS IT WAS THEN...
“... they danced the maddest quadrilles
one ever saw!”
14
some outlet for our exuberant spirits and seized the opportunity of the tem-porary absence of our Head Mistress and the Second Mistress at some local dinner party, to have a ‘high old time’, as we expressed it. When all lights were out, certain girls in the West Dormitory dressed up in each others’ dressing gowns, borrowing willy nilly those of the good ones or “saints” as they were called, got on top of the lockers and – to the execra-ble sound of music produced by the beating of tins and mouthing of tissue paper covered combs, they danced the maddest quadrilles one ever saw! Don’t imagine we were never caught
– we were – and innocent and guilty alike brought before Miss Ewing, who insisted on “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” She got it - and so did we!!
After 1880, everything was gradually changed. The last two years were my happiest, but upon all I look back with greatest pleasure, and only wish I could once more revisit those dear old haunts, however different I might find them.
(1880 was the year that Miss Kendall arrived at HSL, to find many things which she thought required change, and about which she wrote to the Board of Governors at length)
GETTING TOGETHER AGAIN
Meg Milsom (née Burnell) has issued the following call to all those who left HSL in 1965 (whisper it quietly—that’s nearly 50 years ago!)
THIS IS an early announcement about a
possible 50th reunion to be held in 2015.
No details are to hand yet, but if you
haven't been contacted already, please
email Meg Milsom
so that you can be included in future
mailings and be have an opportunity to
add your voice to our early planning. If
you have sisters/friends in this group,
please alert them, as there are still some
in our year whom we have not been able
to locate.
It is intended to set a date soon so that
anyone wanting to travel from overseas
can make their arrangements in plenty of
time. Even if you don't intend to come -
please let us know your whereabouts, so
that we won't spend needless time in
tracking you down!
If you missed our 40th - and maybe re-
gretted it—don't make the same mistake
this time! It would be really good to link
up while
we're still
able to man-
age it!
Meg goes on
to say, “On a
sadder note,
as I've spoken
to people
about the re-
union, I’ve
learned of five more of our year who are
no longer with us; along with four from
2005 and three others since, that makes
12 in total. Rather a sobering list.
An image from the video taken at the fortieth reunion
15
THERE WAS ONLY ONE dental profes-sional in this year’s Birthday Honours list. An MBE was awarded to Sue Greening, Clinical Director, Gwent Community Dental Service, Aneurin Bevan Health Board, for services to dentistry in the UK. Sue is a past president of the BDA and chaired its Community Dental Services commit-tee.
Our congratulations to Sue (née Childs), who left HSL in 1970.
WE ALSO CONGRATULATE HSL’s Direc-tor of Music Liz Phillips' husband Eric, who was awarded the MBE for ser-vices to Education and Music.
IT IS WITH IMMENSE pleasure that we congratulate Kay Powell on her ap-pointment as the new Chair of Gover-nors. It is a great honour that Hywel-ians are represented, not just on the Board, but as Chair. It underlines the contribution made to and links main-tained with today’s School.
Kay says about her appointment:
“I was educated at Howell's and have maintained my links with School through the Hywelian Guild, chairing its Centenary Sub-Committee in 2006. Later that year I was honoured to be invited to become a Governor. Career highlights include being Head of Planning for the Welsh Assembly Government and Secretary of the National Planning Forum for England. I take a special interest in the Eco-Schools initiative and am Governor Representative on the Careers Sub-Committee.”
HONOURS ... ... AND ACHIEVEMENTS
DEBBIE WARD sends a photo of the Hywelian ‘Twig’ in California (not a full branch, as there’s only two of them!). She says Karen Millar and she were doing yoga in the street to raise mon-ey to help provide yoga classes for delinquent girls to give them a better sense of self worth. About 500 people took part: traffic was obviously
stopped and diverted. Karen and Debbie take a yoga class together every week - but Debbie says Karen is much more flexible!
TRAFFIC-STOPPING CONTORTIONS
16
Sixty years - how they have flown Look around – how we have grown! From girls in navy tunics with square necked blouses Sometimes in skirts, (but never in trousers!) Exiting the Hall, first two by two, then four by four Under the eyes of Miss Disney at the door.
We left and went our various ways Armed with great ambition; To change from schoolgirl in those days To become teacher, doctor, lawyer, clerk. We all made the big transition.
Years later to return with hopes fulfilled, To join others as members of Bridgend Hywelian Guild. With Enfys, Jose, Margaret, Liz, here And the late Dr Doreen Annear.
Who can forget meetings at the Patch, Crowded into two rooms, crouching on the stair to catch The news of HSL and other branches.
Though getting smaller as the years slipped along, This branch is still vibrant and going strong.
Still straight of back and fair of face A few wrinkles? (Well, maybe just a trace!), We have striven and taken our place As worthy women of our race.
The words on the badges we wear Bear the school motto: “Unto God only be honour and glory.“
And that is the Bridgend Hywelians’ story!
Barbara Forte ©2013
BARBARA FORTE has penned the following lines in commemoration of 60 years’ existence of the Bridgend Branch. It was read at the Advent Service arranged by the branch in Cowbridge on 27 November 2013.
IN CELEBRATION
I LOVED the Free France stamps which 'Maddy' stuck on the cover of my exercise book as a reward for three consecutive high marks. In 1944 she found me a French pen-friend, Regine, a Bordelaise like her-self. We corresponded and, in 1947, I invited Regine to stay at my home. As I had hoped, her parents asked me to travel back with her. Holidays in Bordeaux and the Basque country followed: the time spent with the Aubonnet family helped me gain a place to study French at Royal Hol-loway College, University of London. Knowing how valuable exchange vis-
its are, on becoming Head of Modern Languages in Gowerton Girls' Gram-mar School, I contacted Madame Liatard, the English teacher in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie. And this is where Mlle Rolin resurfaced. It was she who had invited Madame Liatard to stay in Cardiff after the war.
And Regine? We are still in contact: I last visited her in Arcachon. Her hus-band, children and grandchildren have stayed in my home. Thank you, 'Maddy.'
Ena Davies
MY DEBT TO MLLE JEANNE ROLIN
17
HERE IN OSLO, we have been having in-
credible weather: each day has been try-
ing to outdo the previous one, and we
have had a glorious summer and a truly
beautiful autumn. I do, though, notice
that morning temperatures are creeping
down to a level that makes our garden
blooms start to look anxious.
The view from the sea terrace of our new
apartment at Rolfsbukta (Rolfs Bay) is so
fascinating that it’s difficult to get any-
thing done at all: constantly watching to
see if the hydrofoil ferry is on time as it
rushes past every other hour. Two sea-
planes are tied up on the other side of the
water, and they seem to take off and land
quite often. They have now disappeared
completely - probably to be tucked up in
mothballs until next Spring, because of
the ice and snow that will soon appear.
How fascinating to see how they churn
up so much spray and water when land-
ing and taking off. They are often char-
tered by people flying up to cabins in the
mountains, where there is usually a small
lake to land on. The terrace at the front of
the flat boasts some lovely flowers and I
was especially delighted when the tulips
bloomed in the early spring. Delight
turned to despair when I discovered that
one night local wild deer had eaten all the
tulip heads and left me with plain green
stalks! I plan to plant daffodil bulbs next
time as deer don't like their taste!
A number of Norwegians have bought
and read A Handful of Sand after my hus-
band and I translated the story, added
photographs and published the book here.
Perhaps they will be encouraged to visit
Llandaff Cathedral one day.
I have now lived in Norway for a little
over 50 years and seen many changes.
When I first arrived I worked at NATO
HQ just outside Oslo. I married and I
devoted the next fifteen years to our two
sons. Returning to work, I spent several
years in the offshore sector. It was a very
interesting job, from which I retired
twelve years ago, giv-
ing me time to enjoy
home and family. Our
first grandchild is due
in January or early Feb-
ruary next year and we
are very excited about
that. My stock of gifts
for the baby grows with
each day; I imagine I
shall become a typical Grandma - and
love every minute of it!
(A fuller version of Elizabeth’s account
may be found in the online Appendix)
THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD
Elizabeth Christianson has been living in Norway for many years, She de-scribes her idyllic life on the coast.
18
FILLING THE GAP
The gap year between leaving school and starting higher education is now a well-established period in the lives of many of our young people. Caroline Lakin’s experiences of her year appear in a more detailed form in the online Appendix - what appears below is very much a ‘taster’.
DURING MY GAP YEAR I undertook an internship with HSBC, working in their offices in Canary Wharf, London, and Queen Street, Cardiff. In London, I worked in the Network Department, whose role was to ensure that all branches throughout the UK were operating effectively and efficiently. However, my main project was com-paring HSBC’s student account with those of its fellow competitors within the ‘Big 5’ of the financial industry: Barclays, Lloyds, RBS and Santan-der.
In Cardiff, I was based on the shop floor as a member of the ‘meet and greet’ staff aiding customers with their queries. I was also able to shadow members of the team from sales ser-vice assistant, dealing with opening of general accounts, through to Mort-gage Managers and Premier Manag-ers who deal with customers with a salary in excess of £100,000 and sav-ings of £50,000 or more.
The money earned from my time with HSBC paid for my travels to Kenya and Tanzania with the organisation ‘Camps International’ from February to April 2013. I also decided to raise money for the Stroke Association by climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in memory of my ‘Grandpa Farm’, organised through ‘Camps’. For most of Febru-ary we were based in ‘Camp Muhaka’
in Kenya where I worked in a group building a tailoring room for the vil-lage women - constructed from bot-tles! During these two weeks I also completed my PADI Open Water div-ing course.
During the Kenyan elections in Febru-ary and March 2013, ‘Camp Kenya’ joined ‘Camp Tanzania’. The work was varied: my favourite projects were de-worming the village animals, and building a fence around the pri-mary school. From Tanzania we headed back to Muhaka until the end of March. The highlight of this week was spending the morning in the nursery school of Muhaka with a friend, observing lessons and play-time. The great social scene in Muha-ka came in useful when we wanted to watch the deciding match of the six nations, Wales vs. England. As the only Welsh member within the group I was greatly outnumbered, which made victory all the more sweet!
The last camp we went to was ‘Camp Tsavo’ from late March until early April and it was by far the most enjoy-able. Not only was the project work varied (for example, working on the local primary school called Sasenyi, and carrying out sanctuary mainte-nance of the ranch we were in), but we got the chance to do a one day safari. I particularly treasure the
19
Francesca Hogg left Howell’s in 2007 and gained a place at Bart’s. She has now passed her finals to be-come a doctor and began her first Junior Doctor post at King’s College Hospital London in late July, after spending eight weeks on an elective period in St Kitts and Nevis. During the degree course she took an inter-calated degree and gained a BSc degree in Medical Education. She sat the new national test for all trainee doctors in UK and finished in the top 7%. Well done!
Francesca’s sister, Elena, who left in 2010, is in her final year at Bristol University studying Law. Both girls still talk very fondly of their happy schooldays at Howell’s.
Their parents wrote to the Principal in glowing terms about Howell’s and what it had done for the girls. They said that without that support, the girls would not have got as far as they have.
memories from my last two weeks in Kenya: the night guard waking us up in our banda (sleeping accommoda-tion) in the middle of the night to alert us of a lion outside the camp’s perim-eters; taking part in the practice re-lays for Sasenyi’s annual sports day, and a wheel separating itself from our safari bus in the mid-dle of Tsavo East National Park. My time with ‘Camps In-ternational’ was huge-ly enjoyable and I have memories which will be remembered for a long time, and friendships which have been made for life.
Prior to leaving the UK, I signed up to climb Kilimanjaro as an added adven-
ture. A group of seven of us from ‘Camps International’ had become friends, and on 4th April we began a seven day trek on the Machame route. Throughout the climb we expe-rienced varying climates: humidity, mist, rain and even sub-zero temper-atures on summit night.
Summit night itself was sensational. We left base camp at 4,200m at 12.30am equipped with head torches and walked for six hours up to Uhuru Peak, arriving at the sign at approxi-mately 6.25am. The
whole climb was absolutely incredible and a highlight of my entire trip - and my life so far.
Francesca’s experience wasn’t strictly a gap year, but was nevertheless a worthwhile exercise!
20
I KNOW I’M NOT THE FIRST Hywelian to
find my way into print and I’m sure I
won’t be the last. In fact I reckon it’s a
pretty fair bet that there are other old girls
trying to get a novel published right now.
So, when I was asked to put together a
few words for the magazine I thought I
would share some of the most important
lessons I have learnt along the way.
WRITE THE VERY BEST NOVEL YOU CAN
This sounds blindingly obvious, but it is
so tough for new writers to get published
that your work needs to stand head and
shoulders above the rest. Your opening
pages just have to make the reader want
to read on. Remember that you won’t
achieve this with a first draft. Or even a
second one. Write your novel the first
time through as inspiration drives you.
Then re-write it again and again to make
it as good as you can.
NETWORK WITH OTHER WRITERS
Writing is a solitary occupation and it’s
very easy to become isolated and una-
ware of what is happening in the publish-
ing world. I made my writing contacts in
two ways; by being shortlisted for the
Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novel-
ist competition (bit of a one-off I know)
and by attending Winchester Writers’
Conference. I have been amazed how
helpful most writers are, willing to share
their own networks and expertise. If it’s
hard to get out and about you can make
contacts online too. Your virtual presence
is just as important.
YOU CAN’T DO IT ALONE
Any novel will benefit from someone
other than the writer looking at it. It’s
your baby – you will be much too close
to see its most glaring faults. And if
you’re a real untutored novice (as I was)
you won’t even know how to present a
manuscript properly. You can pay profes-
sional editors to advise you (check out
their credentials or seek recommenda-
tions first), join a good quality writing
group or if you have contacts inside the
profession (see above) then use their ex-
pertise. Listen, and learn.
USE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO
SELL YOUR BOOK
The phrase ‘elevator pitch’ might curl
your toes, but it’s important to have a
sentence which gives the flavour of your
novel. For The Cheesemaker’s House it’s
‘a romance-suspense about what happens
when a divorcee moves to Yorkshire and
meets her neighbours from the present
and the past’. Of course there will be so
much more you want to say but if you
can’t set out your stall in just one sen-
tence then you may not get the chance.
The Cheesemaker’s House is published
by Matador in paperback and ebook.
Jane can be contacted on Twitter or
through her website,
www.janecable.com.
LESSONS LEARNED: SUCCESS EARNED
Jane Cable (nee Simpson) was a sixth-form pupil at HSL from 1979-1981. Her debut novel, The Cheesemaker’s House, won the suspense and crime category of the Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition. Here, Jane shares some of her experiences as a first-time novelist.
21
LITTLE DID WE KNOW when we posed for photo-graphs outside our classroom (UVH 1981) after ‘O’ levels that we would be taking pictures on the same steps over
30 years later. Some of us from
UIII X started school in that class room way back in 1977 (the year that Virginia Wade won Wimbledon!). I remember practising my lacrosse skills on ‘The Asphalt’ outside those French windows! Our classroom is now a dining room; whatever hap-pened to the conker tree? A group of us from UVH drifted back together thanks to the much-maligned Facebook. It’s been an incredible ex-perience renewing the friendships that seemed to go ‘on hold’ for so long after we left school. We decided to attend the Hywelian lunch this year - some of us had never been back to HSL, the place instrumental in launching us as successful women into the world. How much would School have changed? Would we recognise anyone? What sort of memories would it stir up? After a lovely buffet lunch in the Great Hall, we had a guided tour by two sixth formers. (One was a boy: some things have definitely improved!) They were amused by our tales of detention for talking while lining up for
lunch around the Stone Hall stairs. They tolerated our shrieks of delight as we recognised classrooms and recalled staff and events from 30 years ago. “Where have the black and white flagstones of the Stone Hall gone?” we cried! “We’ll start a campaign to restore them! We’ll have a sale of cakes to
raise money, just as we did in the past!” It was such a wonderful day that we are inspired to track down as many girls from our year as possible. A Class of ‘83 Reunion is planned for 23 November 2014 at School. Lunch will be followed by a guided tour by Mrs Janet Sully (Miss Webb), who has helped us track down several teachers from our era, who have also been invited. It promises to be another memorable occasion with plenty more photo op-portunities on ‘those steps’! PS: the event turned out to be very successful indeed, enjoyed immense-ly by all!
Left to right: Siân;
Derrian; Caroline
Left to right: Siân Griffiths; Jo Cum-mings (née Williamson); Caroline
O’Connor (née Drew); Derrian Markham
WHAT A DIFFERENCE 30 YEARS MAKES!
Derrian Markham remembers last year’s Summer lunch with affection
22
IF YOU HAVE access to a computer and
fancy browsing through old school maga-
zines, it’s now possible! School maga-
zines from 1924 to 2002 have now been
digitised and are available online by go-
ing to the HSL website and following the
links from the Hywelians’ (Archives)
section. You will need to request a pass-
word; this is so that we can monitor us-
age of the facility.
HSL has had links with the Cardiff Story
museum in the centre of Cardiff since it
was set up in 2011. From September to
November 2013, we staged a small exhi-
bition there, demonstrating the connec-
tions between HSL and the city over the
years. Our biggest challenge was con-
densing over 150 years of history into
about six hundred words! The exhibition
comprised: six bilingual illustrated infor-
mation panels; various documents and
objects from the archives in display cas-
es; a Then and Now slide show illustrat-
ing how the school buildings have
evolved, and a large file of photocopied
documents and photographs for visitors
to peruse.
This year, we were delighted to receive
more donations for the archives, some of
which are now displayed in the school
museum. Among notable acquisitions
are: the wartime identity bracelet of Ena
Evans (Mrs Davies); a large set of leather
-bound prizes won by the three Tolfree
sisters who were at school in the early
20th century; a three-volume Bible and
bookmarks belonging to Miss Baldwin,
the first Headmistress, which she used for
her Scripture and Ancient History les-
sons; and a letter written in 1957 by the
then Head Girl, Judith Beynon, to Jen-
nifer Kirkup, describing in detail the cer-
emony for the hallowing of the nave of
Llandaff Cathedral after its restoration
following war damage. This latter was
one of a number of items generously do-
nated by Mrs. Jennifer Ayre, (née Kir-
kup), who became the school’s first
Games Prefect, a residential one-year
post for a school leaver, after leaving
UVI in 1958. This summer, she visited
Howell’s with husband John for the first
time since she left in 1959. Jenny was
one of a number of Hywelian visitors
who have enjoyed a tour of the school
and museum during the course of the
year. As usual, the museum was on dis-
play as part of the Open Doors week in
Llandaff, when 24 visitors also had a
historical tour of the school. The young-
est members of the Senior School are also
given a conducted historical tour and
spend a session in the museum, as a result
of which I hope they gain an appreciation
of the school’s rich heritage.
We are always pleased to receive dona-
tions for the archives and museum, and in
particular are still hoping to obtain a sam-
ple of the boarders’ brown Sunday suit,
worn from 1960 to about 1980! I am very
grateful to Hywelians Sue Rayner and
Julia Farnham and to Miss Jean Ballinger
for their constant help, support and good
humour in managing the archives. Our
current major project is classifying the
entire collection and there are more plans
in the pipeline!
Janet Sully.
NEWS FROM THE ARCHIVES
Janet Sully updates us on recent additions to the School’s archives.
23
The Cardiff Story exhibition set up ready for visitors
The Exhibition launch, 2 September 2013
Miss Baldwin's 3-volume Bible and bookmarks, with the label
in her own handwriting
Jennifer Ayre (née Kirkup)
on her visit to school
THE ARCHIVES - RECORDING HISTORY
24
IN MEMORIAM
It is always sad to report the passing of Hywelian Guild members. We send our condolences to their families and friends.
Elizabeth Cory (née Williams)
Liz was born in Cardiff and attended
Rhydypenau Junior School before obtain-
ing a scholarship to HSL. After school,
Liz became articled to accountants in
Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff, where she
met her husband John. They married in
1968. When their two sons were born,
Liz dedicated herself to bringing them up,
only returning to work in 1980, when
both boys were in the Cathedral School.
Liz worked at first for Price Waterhouse
Cooper, then became self-employed, with
clients including the Cardiff Opera House
Trust and Fforwm, an organisation con-
cerned with further education funding.
For a number of years, Liz suffered from
Bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare and irre-
versible lung disease, but continued to
live as normal a life as possible, enjoying
the arts and travelling. Decline was inevi-
table, and she became very ill at the end
of October. She died with family mem-
bers at her bedside on 3 November 2013.
(The above is extracted from an edited
version of the eulogy read at Liz’s funer-
al, which may be found in the online ap-
pendix.)
Eileen Barker (née Clark)
Eileen’s brother David informs us that
Eileen died on Sunday, 15th September
2013, aged 95, at Blackheath, London.
Eileen studied classics at London Univer-
sity, and during the war served with the
R.A.F. at Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes.
She will be sadly missed by her sister and
brothers as well as her children, grand-
children and great grand child.
Clare Eryl Thomas
Clare died in April 2013 in Nevill Hall
Hospital Abergavenny. She had been ill
for some time.
25
Janet Tennyson (née Jones)
Rosie Grimshaw (née Dunn) became
friends with Janet (Jan) in the 70s, when
they were both boarders in Bryntaff. The
friendship lasted 40 years. Rosie writes:
‘Janet and I, in the early days after leav-
ing Howell’s would muse on the kind of
things that we felt would warrant sharing
with our Hywelian comrades in the Mag-
azine. It would have to be very newswor-
thy; in any event, Janet had given me
strict instructions that I should wait until
she had become rich and famous or mar-
ried to a billionaire before up-dating Hy-
welians.
Janet didn’t become rich or famous, nor
did she marry a billionaire. She married
Peter Tennyson, had two beautiful daugh-
ters, Eleanor and Isabel, and led a happy
life living in London, Madrid and more
recently, Kent.
Janet was sporty, smart, witty and great
fun to be around. She was entertaining
and good at making people laugh. Jan
had a keen sense of the ridiculous and we
laughed about some of the more absurd
aspects of school life, like marching into
meals to music. We never did make much
sense of it all but it was fun to remember.
It was with great concern that I heard of
Janet’s devastating illness in September
and tremendous sadness at her passing.
She was a wonderful person, full of life
and was taken from us far too soon.
Cheryl Benjamin (née Daniels)
Christine Burden (nee Forbes, 1966-
1972) was a friend of Cheryl's and writes:
Cheryl (HSL 1969-1974) passed away in
March this year after a short illness.
I saw her December 2012, at a happy
birthday lunch for her elder sister Lynne
(aka Bini, who attended Howells 1965-
1971). Another sister, Gail, lives in The
Netherlands was also present. No-one
suspected that Cheryl’s life was soon to
end so prematurely. She fell ill after
Christmas and died just a few months
later. It was a great shock to her family,
friends and colleagues.
Cheryl was a border in Oaklands, then
left HSL to attend school near her home
in Neath. She studied Sociology at War-
wick University, obtaining her degree in
1976. Her first job was with Swansea
Council, specialising in housing - an area
in which she was particularly interested.
Later, Cheryl was transferred into Neath
Port Talbot Homes as head of Specialist
Services.
Cheryl was a positive
person and an excellent
role model for younger
colleagues, particularly
with her organisational
skills. Her success at
work, her popularity, and
her professionalism was
borne out by the number of people who
attended her funeral. Her employers have
inaugurated an award for innovation—
The Cheryl Benjamin Memorial.
Cheryl found happiness and fulfilment in
family life. In 1978 she married Stephen
Benjamin and was a devoted mother to
Daniel, Alex and Laura. Daniel has a
career in IT, and the girls are studying at
universities and have other individual
interests which Cheryl enthusiastically
supported.
Cheryl’s life was her family, her work
and her colleagues; she is surely remem-
bered by all with great affection.
Further to the two notices above, Judith
Davies (nee Rees) says, “there were six
of us in Oaklands that year: Cheryl, Janet,
26
Jennifer Cairnsterry (Truman), Dorothy
Evans, Sarah Jones and myself. It is hard
to believe that two of our group have
been taken from us in the same year with
the same illness.”
(Fuller versions of the last two obituaries
appear in the online Appendix)
Marjorie Pantero (née Bowen)
Marjorie was born in 1922 and died at
Eglisau, Switzerland on 1st August 2013.
Marjorie was a Hywelian who enjoyed
reading the HG Magazine.
Elisabeth Ann Meyer
Ann passed away suddenly on August
27th 2013. While not a Hywelian herself,
she was the mother of Penelope Polins
(née Meyer), 1975-82 and is sadly missed
by her family and friends.
A REQUEST from one of the Junior School staff for memories of School during the war, especially those of evacuees, stimulated Barbara Forte to recall some of the pupils she knew about.
Helenka Toffler was believed to be from Czechoslovakia. She lived in Rhiwbina and attended a fairly recent HSL Summer lunch. Helen died in 2012.
Barbara contacted Helenka, who said she had been more a refugee than evacuee and left school in 1947. No doubt she had a much better life in this country than she would have had as a Jewish person in Czechoslo-vakia.
She certainly had a good sense of humour because her e-mail address reflected where she lived:
Other names Barbara mentioned were:
Ingeborg Furst was from Berlin. She lived on Thornhill Road, but Barbara hadn’t heard of her for many years.
Lislott Mendle unfortunately died in rather sad circumstances.
Dorothy Oppenheimer would re-member about the foreign evacuees, many of who were Jewish (although Helenka converted to the Roman Catholic church). Perhaps some of HSL Jewish girls of that time might recall.
Does anyone else have information on these or any others? Please get in touch and let us know.
WARTIME RECOLLECTIONS
27
HAVING STEERED clear of Howell’s since
July 1979 (except for one brief visit in
1989) I felt that maybe it was time to
return and beard the ghosts in their lair.
After 30 years spent in South Africa and
Europe, I had moved back to Wales and
was living in the Rhondda, so not too far
away from Llandaff. Not far enough to
put up any serious resistance to attending
the Hywelian summer lunch anyway.
Joyce Shields had been vary supportive
via Facebook, so now all I had to do was
to man up (woman up?) and buy my tick-
et.
Further encouragement came in the form
of two Hywelian friends with whom I had
been able to catch up via Facebook,
namely Penelope Polins (née Meyer) and
Carolyn Huxtable (née Jones) who said
that they would also be there. Penny
would travel down to Cardiff from Hert-
fordshire with her husband, Martin, and
Carolyn was making the journey from
Barnstaple, so for once I felt like a local!
It was wonderful to meet Joyce for the
first time and have a chat with Sally
[Davis, HSL Principal], who was the
most user-friendly headmistress that I
have encountered and looked very col-
ourful in her Hogwarts outfit.
The school has undergone so many
changes for the better since 1979 that it
was difficult sometimes to remember
what was what. Highlights included a
visit to the places formerly known as
Hazelwood and Bryntaff, where I once
slept, and a quick look at the new music
studios which were fantastic – so differ-
ent from the freezing cold music cells
that used to be beneath the hall.
Seeing old friends, speaking to some Hy-
welians that I had only previously en-
countered via Facebook and meeting
some new friends was wonderful.
Now that I am based in Tonypandy, may-
be it’s time to visit more frequently.
(For more information about Facebook
and Hywelians, see below)
HOW LONG IS LONG ENOUGH?
Kerry-Jane Elsdon, like many others before, found that a return to School isn’t the ordeal one expects it to be!
FOR THOSE on Facebook, the Hywelian
page is a great way for you to keep in
touch with your former classmates; share
memories and photos; and find out about
everything that is going on at Howell’s.
We now have approaching 400 members
on the Hywelian Guild page with more
joining all the time. Old photos of the
staff from the 1950s sparked off a huge
number of comments, and the old uni-
form proved strange to a lot of younger
users! Photos of Dorothy Bowen elicited
the information that some users still use
her exam techniques. Remember, you
don’t have to contribute to Facebook -
you can just read the content!
And if you would like to be informed
about everything that’s happening at
Howell’s, you can follow us on Twitter.
Help us achieve our target of 2014 fol-
lowers by 1st January 2014 and be the
first to find out about the latest Howell’s
news by following us @HowellsSchool.
KEEPING IN TOUCH
28
ONLY WHEN we were in the Sixth Form and living in Bryntaff, were we allowed out in a group on Sunday afternoons, unaccompanied by a member of staff. We could walk only in the direction of Llandaff Cathedral, not towards Cardiff! Other outings were the twice-termly Leave Days on Satur-days or Sundays, when you could go out with a relative for the after-noon. On Saturdays, we wore week-day ‘grey’ uniform; on Sundays, it was the brown suit. Woe betide you if you removed your hat (even in the cinema!) and were seen by a member of staff – that cost you a Leave Day. Most of us went out on a Saturday unless we lived near enough to go home: there wasn’t a lot to do other-wise.
The Harris Tweed brown suits and yellow blouses replaced blue Sunday dresses: dark blue for Upper IIIs to Upper IVs and light blue for Lower and Upper V. I believe the change must have been in about 1963 or ’64 as I didn’t ever get to wear a light blue dress. The Sixth Form wore a beige dress which looked like a 1940s two-piece suit. Miss Lewis ap-parently chose the suits (in the style she wore herself!) as they went better with the oatmeal Harris Tweed Sun-day coats we were already wearing.
None of this did a thing for our self esteem when we had to walk in a crocodile past the Llandaff Rugby Club bar on the way to the Cathedral every Sunday!
Then there was the bath rota. We could have three baths a week, either
in the morning or the evening. We washed our hair once a fort-night (not weekly!) two
houses at a time: Kendall and Oak-lands, Hazelwood and Taylor. This took place in the upstairs cloakroom in the main school building and house mistresses (Mrs Stevens in my case) and Matron would dry it with a hair-dryer. While waiting our turn, we hung over the fireguard in front of the elec-tric fire.
Laundry was also done fortnightly. We wore navy outer knickers over white “linings”, of which we were al-lowed three pairs a week. Sunday knickers were white knee-length bloomers. Navy knickers had to last a fortnight and I believe we could send PE shirts in the alternating weeks. Obviously, three pairs of linings a week were insufficient, so we had secret supplies of nylon knickers which we washed out and dried be-tween our bedclothes overnight. If you were caught doing this you lost a Leave Day...
BOARDER MEMORIES
Donia Stick was a pupil at Howells from January 1961 - July 1967, a boarder at first in Kendall and then Bryntaff. Below, she shares some of her memories of those days.
“We washed our hair once a fortnight”
29
As always, these Howlers from the General Knowledge Papers 1913, record-ed in the Hywelian Guild Report for the year 1913-14, make one wonder just how anybody passed any exam!
HOWLERS—IGNORANCE OR INVENTION?
Halley’s Comet - a brilliant metaphor
Gargoyle - confused with the verb ‘to gargle’
Diagnose - a wicked Emperor
Peccadillo - an animal found in Australia
Haversack - muddle, confusion, noise or fuss
Mendelssohn - a German painter
Pirate ship - one of the types of ship found in the British Navy
ON THURSDAY 25th May 2013, three of our
most senior Hywelians: Mrs Enfys Brown
(née Jones), Mrs Barbara Forte (née Mealing)
and Mrs Josephine Rawlins (née Thomas)
arrived at School to be interviewed by four
girls in Year 8 (formerly Lower IV) about
their schooldays, for the first year of our Oral
History project. Interviews were filmed and
edited by an external company, ready to be
shown to the whole school.
Mrs Brown came to Howell’s in 1936 under
Miss Trotter, while Mrs Forte and Mrs
Rawlins started in September 1939 when Miss
Knight was Headmistress; the beginning of
term had been delayed slightly by the out-
break of war. We listened enthralled as these
three lively ladies with extraordinary memo-
ries regaled us with tales of life at school in
the 1930s and 1940s. Katie Jenkins, Riya
Khot, Sasha Noah and Isobel Owens asked
questions on topics ranging from the curricu-
lum and boarding (Mrs Brown and Mrs
Rawlins had been boarders), to extra-
curricular activities and school life during the
war. We looked at documents and photos
from their time; Mrs Rawlins brought with her
a book containing the lunchtime Latin grace.
We could have gone on longer, but were
called to lunch in Mrs Davis’s room, where
our reminiscing continued. We are very grate-
ful to these three Hywelians for generously
sharing their memories with us.
The edited film was shown first to Hywelians
who attended the Summer Lunch and then to
the whole school on Founders’ Friday: this
latter event is a new initiative, with an assem-
bly to heighten awareness of our heritage and
a revival of the extended Thomas Howell
breaktime. We were delighted that Mrs Forte
and some other Hywelians were able to join
us then.
We hope next to interview three or four Old
Girls who were at school in the post-war peri-
od (late 1940s/early 1950s). Anyone who is
interested in taking part should contact me
either by phoning school (029 2056 2019) or
by emailing
Janet Sully.
(Member of staff in charge
of the school archives)
THE HYWELIAN ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
30
It’s a real pleasure to announce some cheerful news!
Anna Humphreys (née Broughton)
Anna gave birth to a fourth son, Daniel,
on 28 December 2012. Daniel has broth-
ers Ben (12), Sam(8) and Thomas(4).
Anna also tells us (in case she forgets!)
that her niece Rebecca Denley (née
Broughton) had her first child Toby on 17
March 2013.
Linda Turner
Linda writes to say that both daughters
have produced offspring this year.
Lucy Butler (née Turner) and Stephen
now have a baby boy, Harry James, born
7th May 2013,
Daughter Isabelle Alice was born to
Laura Cronin (née Turner) and Jonathan
on 5th March 2013.
RECENT MARRIAGES AND NEW ARRIVALS
Alexandra Mathias (HSL 1991-2003)
Alexandra says:
I am currently working
as the Head of Compa-
ny Law Policy at Com-
panies’ House in Car-
diff. This year I married
Dale (with two Hywel-
ians - Dalia Elhami-
Evans and Michelle
Grey - as brides-
maids!). Debbie Djial-
lis (née Stephenson) did a reading for us,
so there were Howell’s girls everywhere!
We also welcomed our daughter, Elodie
Margaret, into the world in April!
Heather Sims
Heather is the daughter of Jennifer Sims
(née Warwick), and Neville, who was
Chair of Governors for a number of
years..
Heather’s
news didn’t
make it into
last year’s
magazine, so
here it is
now!
Heather married
Roger Gledhill on 27th August 2011. She
is now step-mother to four beautiful
grown up girls, and has four step-
grandchildren!
Sarah Finlay
On 18th May 2013, Sarah married Adam
Charles (Charlie) at Llandaff Cathedral,
followed by afternoon tea and an evening
reception at Howell's School. Sarah was
Head Girl in her last year.
MARRIAGES...
... AND BIRTHS
A happy family group at Heather’s wedding.
31
Online Services
We are always happy to feature website addresses of Hywel-ians who wish to advertise business/career/service. We charge a fee of £20, which goes towards the cost of printing the magazine. Please contact Joyce Shields for details:
Jayne Barr (née Loxley-Hughes)
Jayne applies a wide variety of mar-keting and communications tools to improve her clients' businesses. Visit her web site on: www.creative-consulting.co.uk
Saskia Russell (née Blair)
Saskia has a physiotherapy practice in Cardiff. For more information, please visit her website at:
www.saskiablair.co.uk
Elinor Wynne Lloyd
Elinor’s love of all things Greek grew from a visit to Greece made at the age of 12 with her parents, Dilys and Wynne Lloyd. Her shop is very near to the British Museum, and is called (what else?) It’s All Greek To Me.
www.itsallgreek.co.uk
REMINDER! If you would like a hard copy of next year’s Magazine, please remember to send a stamped addressed C5-sized envelope to Joyce Shields, the Guild’s Member-
ship Secretary, by the end of September 2014.
SPONSORS 2014
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